MID-AUTUMN BLISS AT ELEGANT INN HK CUISINE

Apart from Chinese New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival has to be one of the most anticipated tai yat ji – a major festival in the Chinese lunar calendar. Such a significant occasion calls for a showstopping main course and Elegant Inn HK Cuisine, as usual, rises to the occasion with its South African Abalone Treasure Bowl Feast.

A most befitting headliner of the restaurant’s Mid-Autumn Bliss menu available now until 30 September 2019, I feel privileged to be able to savour the sumptuous treasures from that mini poon choi.

 

In keeping with the spirit of the traditional dish originally from New Territories in Hong Kong where villagers collectively pool their supply of food in big wooden or ceramic washbasins to celebrate key festivals and special occasions, Elegant Inn’s version comprises 9-head South African abalones, roast duck, plump shiitake mushrooms, sea prawns and broccoli.

Considered one of the best in the world, the frilly edge South African abalones taste divine; their smooth succulence gently seguing into chewier toothsomeness the more we bite into them. The resultant marine savoury-sweetness is sublime when mingled with the thick, almost gelatinous braising sauce of the base of pork trotter. Every morsel of the entire casserole is equally scrumptious: from the juicy roast duck and delectable prawns to the chunks of radish, broccoli and Chinese cabbage. We unhesitantly slurp up the deeply flavourful sauce too.

The opening salvo for the Mid-Autumn Bliss menu showcases an inventive appetiser of Silky Egg White with Bird's Nest paired with Seared Pork Tongue. A ‘bird’s nest’ fashioned from deep-fried rice vermicelli (meehoon) holds clumps of delicate bird’s nest complemented by a little cocktail spear of pan-seared pork tongue.

 

Marinated with a milieu of condiments including superior soya sauce and five spice powder, the deliciously tender tongue has a nice QQ crunch to it. According to restaurant proprietress Jeanette Han, only the centre – the tenderest part – of the pork tongue is used. For textural contrast, it’s accompanied by some snow fungus and Japanese cucumber.

Elegant Inn HK Cuisine's balcony is shaded and ideal for pre-dinner cocktails. There's a herb garden in the far-flung corner too where garden-fresh herbs are harvested for the resto's use.

Han, who firmly believes serving good food is a vocation for the conscientious, says “My team of 18 chefs have with Elegant Inn HK Cuisine for over 10 years. They are the stalwarts who understand my high expectations and have strived to meet my exacting standards.”

True to her credit, I cannot recall any occasion when the food at Elegant Inn has failed to impress. After 11 years in the business, Han still sources and buys most of the ingredients especially premium dried seafood and certain products like Chinese sausages herself from Hong Kong – it’s a form of quality control she steadfastly adheres to. “Great ingredients speak for themselves and their quality will shine through with the simplest preparation.”

A notable testament to that philosophy is the Double Boiled Soup of Deer Tendon, Dried Conch, Black Chicken and Murrill Mushroom (agaricus blazei Murrill or himematsutake in Japanese). In Han’s book, soup has to be ching teem i.e. clear and sweet; well-balanced without being too ‘heavy’ or cloying with any residual aftertaste.

Having undergone 4-6 hours of double boiling, the resultant bowl of restorative broth is lush and redolent with complex marine sweetness, slightly gelatinous and gamey from the various goodies in it. You can swap the deer tendon to fish maw (just add RM10+ per person) or luxe up the soup with superior shark’s fin (add RM38+ per person). It’s a heartwarming, nutritious offering to relish slowly.

The penultimate serving of Claypot Rice with Garoupa Fillet, Hong Kong Dried Prawns and Tung Choy proves a nice counterpoint to the succession of indulgent specialities thus far. Simple and appealing, it’s reminiscent of cooking from the hearth and home.

Teochew Style Tau Suan with Crunchy Sea Cucumber and Black Gold Custard Bun ensure a blissfully sweet ending to the celebratory menu. A traditional dessert of the Teochew community, the mildly sweet split mung bean broth is given an unexpected twist, with little pieces of crunchy jelly-like sea cucumber as accompaniment.

Again, the playful textures are paired off with a pillowy-soft charcoal bao filled with molten custard. This is one Mid-Autumn festival selection that will leave everyone abuzz long after the meal is over.

The Mid-Autumn Bliss Menu is priced at RM888 for 4 persons, RM1,288 for 6 persons and RM2,138 for 10 persons (subject to 6% SST).

For reservations, please call Elegant Inn HK Cuisine, tel: 03-2070 9399. Address: 2.01, 2nd Floor, Podium Block, Menara Hap Seng, Jalan P Ramlee, KL.

SPECIAL CHILDREN ENJOY BUKA PUASA TREAT AT FOUR SEASONS HOTEL KL

DYMM Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin, Tengku Permaisuri Selangor graced a buka puasa dinner hosted by Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur recently, attended by children from Tasputra Perkim and Taman Megah Handicapped and Disabled Children’s Home.

General Manager Tom Roelens (pix above) together with Director of Community Relations Dato' Rosemarie Wee (pix below far right) and the Chairman of Tasputra Perkim Puan Hajjah Elahe Norman were at hand to welcome DYMM Tengku Permaisuri Selangor upon arrival.

After prayers were recited to mark the breaking of fast, all the invited guests enjoyed the delicious selection of Malay specialities prepared by the Hotel chefs for dinner.  

Later, DYMM Tengku Permaisuri personally went around to present duit Raya to each of the 30 children from Tasputra Perkim and 20 from Taman Megah Handicapped and Disabled Children’s Home. Her Royal Highness also chatted with the special children and their caregivers.

 

Before Her Royal Highness’ departure, the invited guests took the opportunity to have their pictures taken with DYMM Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin.

OVER THE MOON FOR MID-AUTUMN AT DORSETT

Red. Green. Blue. These bejewelled hues set the tone for Dorsett’s Mid-Autumn Fest offerings this year.

You don’t need to jump over the moon to get your hands on Ruby Allure — the Red Dragonfruit-infused Crystal Skin Mooncake with Red Bean Paste (RM26 each). I’m a big fan of this healthy fruit so the delicate creation with its light sweetness hits the spot for me.

Durians — you either love it or hate it. I belong to the former camp and again, the

aromatic Golden Treasure — a Pandan-infused Crystal Skin Mooncake with Durian and Black Sesame Paste (RM35 each) comes up to mark. IMHO, I’d prefer a more pronounced durian accent but still, it ticks all the right boxes for me. A baked variation also available debuts this year in the form of Low Sugar Durian Lotus Paste with Single Egg Yolk (RM35 each). 

A Dorsett signature, the Sapphire Glitz (RM30 each) makes a comeback by popular demand. Tinged a lovely Tiffany-blue with blue pea flower juice, the crystal skin mooncake with white lotus paste and single yolk is pleasing on the eye and palate.

The quintessential baked mooncake range from Dorsett includes Pure Red Bean Paste (RM26), Pandan Lotus Paste with Single Yolk (RM30) or Plain (RM27), Six Coarse Grains Paste (RM28) and Low Sugar White Lotus Paste in Plain (RM29), with Single (RM30) or Double Egg Yolk (RM35) variants.

Packed in an exclusively designed double-tiered box with recognisable Dorsett motifs and shades of the group’s corporate blue-brown colours, the Mid-Autumn Festival delicacies are available now until 24 September 2018.

For more information, call Dorsett Grand Subang (tel: 03-5031 6060 ext 3033/3032), Dorsett KL (tel: 03-2716 1000), Dorsett Putrajaya (tel: 03-8892 8388), Silka Maytower KL (tel: 03-2692 9298) and Silka Cheras KL (tel: 03-9100 1133).